The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Education Postsecondary
BILL: SB 732
INTRODUCER: Senator Wright
SUBJECT: Collegiate Purple Star Campuses
DATE: March 6, 2023
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Jahnke Bouck HE Pre-meeting
2. MS
3. RC
I. Summary:
SB 732 establishes the Collegiate Purple Star Campuses program to identify public
postsecondary institutions that support military-connected families. The bill requires the State
Board of Education (SBE) and the Board of Governors (BOG) to establish the Collegiate Purple
Star Campuses program to require a participating Florida College System (FCS) institution, state
university, or career center to, at minimum:
Designate a staff member as a military liaison.
Maintain a webpage on the FCS institution or state university’s website which includes
resources for military students and families.
Maintain a student-led transition program to assist military students in transitioning to the
FCS institution or state university.
Offer professional development training opportunities for staff members on issues relating to
military students.
Provide priority course registration for military students.
The bill also authorizes the SBE and the BOG to establish additional criteria to identify FCS
institutions and career centers, or state universities, respectively, that demonstrate a commitment
to or provide critical transition support for military-connected families.
The bill has no impact on state revenues or expenditures.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.
REVISED: BILL: SB 732 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Military Personnel and Families
United States military and civilian personnel located worldwide number nearly 3.5 million.
1
A
total of 1.3 million Department of Defense (DoD) active duty military members
2
are assigned to
the 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than half of the military members located
stateside are in California, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
3
A total of 800,064 Selected Reserve members are assigned to the 50 states and the District of
Columbia. One-third or 33.6 percent of Selected Reserve members in the United States are
assigned to Texas, California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Georgia.
4
Close to two-thirds, 62.7 percent or 1,602,261, of all DoD force family members are children.
Over one-third, 36.9 percent, of family members are spouses. Overall, 37.1 percent of the total
DoD force has children.
5
Of military children, more than two-thirds are 11 years of age or younger:
36.8 percent or 590,071 children are 0-5 years of age.
32.6 percent or 521,930 children are 6-11 years of age.
24.3 percent or 389,598 children are 12-18 years of age.
6.3 percent or 100,662 children are 19-22 years of age.
6
Military Families in Florida
Florida has 20 military installations.
7
Florida is also home to a number of National Guard and
Military Reserve Units.
8
The following chart breaks down the dependents of active duty military
personnel located at Florida military bases:
9
1
Department of Defense, 2021 Demographics, Profile of the Military Community, pg. iii (2022), available at
https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2021-demographics-report.pdf.
2
Id. Active duty service branches include DoD’s Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Air Force.
3
Id. at 35.
4
Selected Reserve components include DoD’s Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve,
Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, and Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Coast Guard Reserve. Id. at iv
and 83.
5
Children include minor dependents age 20 or younger and dependents age 22 or younger enrolled as full-time students. Id.
at 107 and 108.
6
Id. at 109.
7
Enterprise Florida, Military-Defense, Military and Defense Programs,
https://www.enterpriseflorida.com/floridadefense/military-in-florida/ (last visited February 23, 2023).
8
Florida Department of Education, Student Support Services Project, Interstate Military Compact Awareness (2016),
available at https://sss.usf.edu/resources/format/pdf/2016_Charter_School_Presentation.pdf.
9
Military bases include: U.S. Southern Command, Jacksonville Naval Air Station (NAS), Key West NAS, Mayport Naval
Station, Naval Support Activity Panama City, Pensacola NAS, Whiting Field NAS, Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Hurlburt
Field, MacDill AFB, Tyndall AFB, and Patrick Space Force Base. Department of Defense, supra note 1, at 195. BILL: SB 732 Page 3
Florida Dependents of Active Duty Personnel
Children
Active Duty
Personnel
Spouses Ages
0 to 5
Ages
6 to 11
Ages
12 to 18
Ages
19+
Other
Dependents
Total
Dependents
Total
64,318 29,492 19,554 16,620 11,665 1,907 299 79,537 143,855
Educational Benefits
In addition to benefits from the compact, Florida also provides other educational benefits to
military families, including:
In-state tuition rates and fee waivers.
Priority course registration for veterans receiving GI Bill benefits.
Required college credit for military training and education courses.
Course withdrawal due to military service, without penalty.
National Guard Educational Dollars for Duty Program.
Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission.
Accepting military permanent change of station orders that relocate a military family to any
military installation within the state as proof of Florida residency.
Accepting exit or end-of-course exams required for graduation from a sending state.
Providing preferential treatment to dependent children of active duty military personnel who
moved as a result of military orders in a school’s controlled open enrollment process.
10
Purple Star Schools Program
The Purple Star Schools Program is designed to help schools respond to the educational and
social-emotional challenges military-connected children face during their transition to a new
school and keep them on track to be college, workforce, and life-ready.
11
Thirty-seven states
currently participate in the program and six states have introduced legislation.
12
Florida has 122
Purple Star Schools of Distinction.
13
The Florida Purple Star School of Distinction Designation requires that a school:
14
Designate a school counselor, teacher, principal, or assistant principal as the Military Point of
Contact (MPOC). MPOCs are responsible for serving as the central point of contact for
military families to assist with student enrollment, records transfer, accessing services for
students with disabilities, and accessing school- and community-based resources that are
available for military students and their families.
Maintain a dedicated page on its website featuring information and resources for military
families.
10
Enterprise Florida, Advantage Florida Military Benefits Guide (2022-23), available at
https://www.enterpriseflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/Advantage-Florida-Military-Benefits-Guide.pdf.
11
Military Child, The Purple Star School Program, available at
https://www.militarychild.org/upload/files/purple%20star/Purple_Star_One_Pagers_SCHOOLS_2.06.pdf.
12
Military One Source, Key Issue Status Tracker, Purple Star Schools Program,
https://statepolicy.militaryonesource.mil/status-tracker/purple-star-schools-program (last visited February 23, 2023).
13
Florida Department of Education, Purple Star School of Distinction Designation, https://www.fldoe.org/schools/family-
community/activities-programs/parental-involvement/purple-star.stml (last visited February 23, 2023).
14
Rule 6A-1.0999(3), F.A.C. BILL: SB 732 Page 4
Maintain a student-led transition program to include a student transition team coordinator.
Provide annual professional development concerning how to identify and respond to the
unique needs of military students and their families. Schools may partner with school
districts to procure or provide professional development through virtual or face-to-face
courses.
Reserve at least 5 percent of controlled open enrollment seats for military students.
Complete at least 3 activities that support military families.
Collegiate Purple Star Designation
In 2017, Ohio’s PreK-12 school system led the nation by creating the “Purple Star” designation
for schools that support military families, and in 2022, Ohio was the first state to expand the
program to support military families at the college level by establishing the “Collegiate Purple
Star” designation.
15
The Ohio program includes in its student population service members, veterans, their spouses,
and dependents.
16
Criteria for being chosen as a Purple Star college or university include:
17
Having a dedicated military or veteran point of contact or office on campus.
Establishing priority registration for veterans and servicemembers.
Surveying student veterans and servicemembers, along with spouses and dependents, about
needs and challenges.
Allowing for the establishment of student-led groups and organizations for veterans and
servicemembers.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
SB 732 creates s. 1004.074, F.S. to establish the Collegiate Purple Star Campus program to
support military-connected families. The bill defines a military student as a student enrolled in a
Florida College System (FCS) institution, state university, or career center who is either a
dependent of an active-duty or former member of the United States military that is the Army,
Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, a reserve component of any of
these branches of the United States military, or the Florida National Guard.
Unlike the Ohio program, the bill’s definition of military students does not include active duty
service members, veterans, or their spouses.
The bill also:
15
Ohio Department of Higher Education, ODHE Unveils New Collegiate Purple Star Designation,
https://highered.ohio.gov/about/news-events/all-news/odhe-unveils-new-collegiate-purple-star-designation (last visited
February 23, 2023).
16
Ohio Department of Higher Education, Directive 2022-004, RE: Proposal to Designate Aspiring Military Friendly
Institutions as a “Collegiate Purple Star” Institution in Ohio (Mar. 23, 2022), available at
https://highered.ohio.gov/static/files/Directive_2022-004_PurpleStar.pdf, at 2.
17
Id. BILL: SB 732 Page 5
Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt rules, and the Board of Governors
(BOG) to adopt regulations, to establish the Collegiate Purple Star Campuses program that
requires a participating FCS institution, state university, or career center to at a minimum:
o Designate a staff member as a military liaison.
o Maintain a webpage on the FCS institution or state university’s website which includes
resources for military students and families.
o Maintain a student-led transition program that assists military students in transitioning
into the FCS institution or state university.
o Offer professional development training opportunities for staff members on issues
relating to military students.
o Reserve at least five percent of controlled open enrollment seats for military-connected
students.
Authorizes the SBE and the BOG to establish additional criteria to identify FCS institutions
and career centers, or state universities, respectively, that demonstrate a commitment to or
provide critical transition support for military-connected families such as:
o Hosting an annual military recognition event.
o Partnering with a school liaison officer from a military installation.
o Supporting projects that connect the FCS institution, state university, or career center
with the military community.
o Providing outreach for military parents and their children.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None. BILL: SB 732 Page 6
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
None.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
The bill establishes the Collegiate Purple Star Campus program with minimum requirements for
Florida College System (FCS) institutions, state universities, and career centers. However, 2 of
the 5 specified criteria for program participation include only the FCS institutions and state
universities. The bill should be amended to include career centers in these program criteria.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill creates section 1004.071 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.